I'll Always Be There
by soupus
Summary: It was his time to shine and she was not going to stand in the way. She knew he was going to be big with his brothers but saying goodbye was so hard. Now it’s a year later and she’s ready to take all the chances. A Connect 3 Story.
1. Chapter 1

_September 2006_

"Whoa Gray! I can't believe you boys are going on tour. I mean it feels like yesterday we were in my garage jamming," Janie said to Jason, Shane, and Nate

"I still can't believe you wouldn't sign with us," Shane said.

"You wouldn't be Connect 3 if I had."

"We would have worked it out."

"Come on you guys are going to be late, get on the bus and get out of here before I change my mind and get on with you."

"Maybe we should take our time then," Nate said.

"Guys!"

"All right, bye Janie."

"Bye Jason."

She hugged him then hugged Nate. Shane was the last one to come up to her.

"Is there anything I can do to convince you to come with us?" he asked.

"Shane what was the first thing I told you when you got that call from the record label?"

"This is it, your dream is coming true and you shouldn't let anyone or anything hold you back."

"Exactly. God forbid I'm the girl that kept you from shining; I wouldn't be able to live with myself. You know I love you and if you love me you'll turn around and get on that bus."

"But you're part of me Janie…"

"Meaning I'll always be there with you."

He sighed and leaned his forehead against hers.

"You promise we'll be in constant contact?" he asked.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Shane hugged Janie and prepared to say the one word he had never said to his best friend.

"Bye."

"Bye Shane." He kissed her forehead and kept his mouth there for a second, his warm breath lightly hitting her skin.

"You need to go Shane."

He nodded and got into the bus. Janie watched as it pulled away and turned the corner. She was walking into her house when her cell phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"_Miss me yet?"_ Shane asked from the other line.

"Shane the bus is barely around the corner."

"_Well I missed your voice."_

She smiled.

"I guess hearing yours isn't too bad."

"_You know you love it_."

"I'm going to do some homework so I'll to you later, ok?"

"_Don't go_."

"Shane…"

"_Ok, I'll call you later."_

"All right, love you."

"_Love you too bye_."

She hung up and walked up to her room. She sat on her bed and looked at the picture she had on her night table. It was her and Shane last October during the Harvest Festival. He had been her best friend for as long as she could remember but she knew over the years their relationship had changed. He wasn't just her best friend anymore, he was the love of her life, and now he was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! It's cool that people put the story on the alert list but reviews are always great, just tell me what u like and don't like…**

* * *

_December 2007_

Since Shane had left things had been different for Janie. Shane was her go to guy. He was there for her no matter what and him gone was like living alone. She had seen him a few times since he had left but it had been about six months now. The tour took off quickly and the guys were an instant sensation. Janie would see them on TV, see all the girls fawning for them, for Shane, and she just missed him.

"Come on Junebug," Janie called out to her English bulldog.

She walked downstairs and out to her front yard. It was an extremely cold day in New Jersey and everything was covered in snow.

She was fixing Junebugs' sweater when someone walked up behind her.

"I can't believe you have one of those things on Junebug."

She turned around and a bright-eyed Shane was smiling back at her.

"Well I don't want her to get sick; you know how crazy the weather is here."

"I guess."

"When did you get back?"

"Now."

She looked down at the white snow then looked up at him, the harsh sun making her squint.

"You didn't call or anything."

"I know, it's just things have been so crazy. I'm so sorry. I've been thinking about you the entire time though."

"I really missed you," she said, fighting back the tears.

He stepped towards her.

"I missed you too."

"I was starting to think you had forgotten about me."

"Come on, you know that'll never happen."

He put his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Come on, let's go inside."

They walked into her house and went up to her room. Once their coats were off they laid down on her bed like they always did. This time though they faced each other instead of staring up at the ceiling.

"Man did I miss you," he said, trailing his thumb down her cheek.

"You sure you're just not saying that?"

"Of course not. When you stopped calling I thought my run with you was over, that the fame had gotten to your head."

"That's not going to happen, ever. You're my number one."

She moved closer to him and ran her hand through his much longer hair.

"What's up with this?" she asked.

"A new do for the dude, you like?"

"It's cute."

"And you, my my, this black hair makes you look so hot. But what's up with this new edgy you?"

"I thought a change would be nice."

"Oh yeah? Well you can change your outside but you'll always be the same person on the inside."

"I guess we'll always be the same. We can't change, it'd be morally incorrect."

"How's college working out for you?"

"I'm on a break. I think I need some time for myself so I'm going to start up again in the fall."

"So that means you're going to be free for the new few months?"

"Yep. Why?"

"We'll get back to that later."

"No I want to know now."

"Well, we have room on the bus and I think…"

"Yes…"

"I think you should come on tour with us."

"What?"

"Yeah, it'd be so much better with you and I can't take another six months without you."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah… will you come?"

"Of course!" she jumped on top of him and hugged him.

She looked him straight in the eyes.

"I'd love to go on tour with you."

He smiled.

"I've missed looking at your eyes so much," he said.

"I can say the same for you."

Their faces inched closer but before their lips could touch the door flew open and Nate and Jason ran in.

"Janie! Oh! Were we interrupting something?" Jason asked.

Janie jumped off of Shane.

"No, come in. Join us."

They jumped into her bed and she hugged them then they all laid back.

"It's good to have my boys back," she said.

* * *

"It's so good to have you at the dinner table with us Janie," Paul, the boys' dad, said.

"It's great to be with you guys. I missed the Gray family like crazy." Shane leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Shane did you ask her?" Paul asked.

"About what? Oh! Yes I did."

"Ask her what?" Nate asked.

"I asked her to come on tour with us."

"And?" Jason asked.

"Where will I be sleeping?"

"Woo! This is going to be awesome," Nate said.

She smiled at Nate across the table.

"When exactly are we leaving?" she asked.

"Tomorrow morning."

"What? You guys couldn't have given me a little heads up earlier?"

"Come on, we'll head over to your house after dinner and pack up your stuff."

She widened her eyes before drinking some water.

"Well I'm done here and I don't care if you're not, come on Shane." She grabbed his collar and pulled him up.

"Bye Janie."

"Bye everyone." They left.

"Ok, so I'm going to pack everything."

"Good idea." They neatly started putting everything in the suitcase but eventually had a clothes war and started throwing everything around.

"Oh boy this is going to take us forever," Janie said, looking at the mess.

"All nighter?"

"We can always sleep on the bus."

She jumped over her suitcase and landed on top of Shane.

"No, pinned down by the girl of my dreams, what should I do?" Shane asked.

Janie giggled.

"Shut up, we all know Jessica Alba is your dream girl."

"I met her!"

"And you must have looked like the biggest idiot."

"Oh yeah, as she walked away I said 'see you at the wedding'."

"I can't believe I missed that."

"You kind of missed a lot."

"I'm sorry." She kissed his forehead. "You know I wish I could have been there."

"I know. Don't worry I'm not holding anything against you."

There was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me." She jumped up and opened the door. "Oh my gosh, Hunter," she said, fully surprised. "I thought you weren't coming back until February."

"Well I decided to make a pit stop here."

She nodded.

"Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Yeah, of course I am." She hugged him.

"Janie?" Shane asked, coming to her side.

"Shane this is Hunter, Hunter this is my best friend Shane."

"And who exactly is Hunter?" Shane asked.

"Hunter is my boyfriend."


End file.
